Natasha glanced around the ballroom, Stark's charity auction had a good turn. This year there was a ball before the auction, so everything was extremely elegant. Shimmering chandlers, dripping with crystals, hung from the vaulted ceilings, casting shadows on the dancers below. The room was full of silk, satin, and taffeta skirts swirling in every direction and crisp, clean cut, suits. The sound of hundreds of people talking and laughing filled the air along with strains of classical music.
The people that weren't dancing were gathered by the side of the dance floor, talking next to the huge floor to ceiling windows that graced the walls of the room. Others had stepped outside to get a breath of fresh air on one of the many balconies. And some still were at the fully stocked bar talking and drinking fancy little cocktails.
Natasha was perched gracefully on one of the black leather bar stools that lined the bar, sipping a cocktail. She had been there for about thirty minutes, enough time for the target to notice her. Mark Daniels seemed to appreciate the short beaded cocktail dress she was sporting. She had seen his gaze drift her way more than once. Natasha smiled into her drink, this was her favorite part, seeing how gullible men were. It always amused her.
Just as she was finishing her drink, Clint's voice came over her comm link.
"Hey Nat! How's it going?" he said, his voice slightly muffled by the wind on the roof.
"Good," she said, careful to barely move her lips, so no one tell she was talking. "Are you in position?"
"Yep. Do you have eyes on Daniels?"
"I sure do. He's been eyeing me like a piece of meat for the last twenty minutes. I shouldn't have any trouble luring him away from the crowd for a few minutes."
"Yay. I'm so gland you attract him," he said disgust coloring his voice.
"Oh, get over it Clint. I mean really! You're like this every mission. It's getting old."
"Fine. I'll shut up but that doesn't mean I like it."
"You don't have to and shut up for real. Daniels is heading my way."
"Ok. Bye, be safe."
"Same," she said before swinging around in her seat to come face to face with Daniels.
He cleaned up nicely, she supposed. His greying brown hair was swept back and his beard was closely shaven. He was wearing a fresh looking black and white suit with a gray tie. However, his eyes ruined the picture, they were dark and cold, like a shark's.
"Hi there!" she said, slipping a bubbly element into her voice. She smiled internally when his eyes flickered from the empty glass in her hand back to her face. He had fallen for the giggly drunk act hook, line, and sinker. Now she just had to reel him in.
"Well hello," Daniels said, "What's a pretty thing like yourself doing here all alone?"
"I don't know. Would you believe me if a told you it was fate?"
"Well that depends, fate is a curious thing. So tell me darling, how did fate bring you here?"
"Well..," Natasha said before giggling and almost falling out of her chair, "Fate decided that he fancied someone else and left yours truly here all alone. But I've had a few drinks and now you're here so I should be ok."
"If that's the case I'll have to thank fate later, I'm glad he left you to hang with me"
At this Natasha smiled and giggled again, sliding out of her chair and into Mark Daniels's arms, almost tripping over the one of the legs of the stool. As he pulled her up he whispered in her ear, "I never caught your name, sweetheart."
"It's Emily," she said gazing up at his face and bating her eyes, "Emily Cornet."
"That's a lovey name," he said, his breath hot on her face.
"Why, thank you! What's yours?"
"Adam Sealferd."
"Well Adam, what are you doing tonight."
"Not much, would you like to join me ? I have a suite at The Plaza Hotel.".
"And missed the auction?" she said, gesturing in the general direction of the stage in the corner of the room where Tony was due to start the bidding soon.
"No, no, no, never. Besides, I have some business to conduct here tonight as well."
"Oh, sounds fun," Natasha said shyly, casting her gaze down and biting her lip.
"Don't you worry, sweetheart," Daniels said, lifting her head up until her eyes meet his, "I will see you soon enough. I'll have a car waiting for us afterwards. Is that good?"
When she nodded, he smiled and with a final whisper of, "see you soon," turned around and left.
Natasha let the façade fall as soon as Daniels was out of sight. She set her empty glass down on counter and causally walked toward one of the balconies. The cool night air welcomed her as she opened the door and walked out. The city lights filled the night sky with a neon glow went on forever, making it seem like the city was endless. After making sure that no one was present she contacted Clint over her comm link.
"Looks like we're going to need you," she said.
"Cool. So what's the plan, Nat?" Clint said, eager to do something besides sit on a rooftop waiting.
"I'm supposed to meet up with Daniels after the auction, he'll have a car waiting to take us to The Plaza Hotel. I'll need you to take him out on the way to the car. Luckily we're "leaving" right after the bidding, so there won't be much of a crowd."
"Sounds good to me. I'm guessing he'll have the Chitauri artifacts with him?"
"He should, I can grab them after you've taken him out. I'll probably have to take the driver out, but that shouldn't be a problem."
"Ok, we can do that. Meet you in the building across the street after it's said and done?"
"Sure, I'll see you soon?"
"Yep. Bye."
"Bye."
At that Natasha swept her eyes over the balcony one last time, and then headed inside. The dancing had slowed down, only a few couples were still twirling in time to the music. The staff working the auction had started wheeling out tables covered with white lace for people to sit at. She spotted Daniels and a strange man with a briefcase at his feet sitting at a table in a corner of the room away from everyone else.
The bidding itself started in a few minutes, so Natasha walked around and conversed with other guests. Most of them were the heads of companies that had donated money to whatever charity and their spouses. When she saw Tony, dressed in a suit Pepper had probably forced him into, step on the stage she headed to find a seat toward the back of the room, where she could hid in peace.
The bidding started off slow, but as the auction went on more and more people started to contribute. Jewelry, gift cards, shopping sprees, and almost everything under the sun was sold to the highest bidders. Natasha herself even bid on a few things, it would have looked odd if she didn't and it was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s money.
When bidding on the second to last item, a two night stay in some fancy hotel in France, started Natasha felt someone lean over her shoulder.
"You ready to go," said Mark Daniels.
"Sure!" said Natasha, leaning way to far back in her chair to glance up at Daniels's face.
"Who, there," he said, pushing her chair into an upright position again. "Careful, you wouldn't want to fall."
"I won't! When are we leaving?"
"Right now, if you want to."
"I want to!" said Natasha, bounding out of her seat and grabbing her purse. "Where's the car?"
Daniels chuckled at her antics, "Follow me. I'll show you."
He starting weaving his way in and out of the crowd, leaving her to follow.
"This way," he said, gesturing toward a door near the bar that was nearly hidden by some potted plants.
Natasha opened the door and walked outside, her high heels clicking against the pavement. One glance of the small alley told her everything she needed to know. One end faced the street, the other was a dead end. As far as New York City allies went, it was fairly clean. Garbage cans were lined up against the walls and most of their contents had managed to stay in them, however, it still reeked of trash and cat pee. All in all, it was safe to say that the clean, waxed, car sitting at the end of the alley didn't fit the picture. At all.
Natasha tensed when she heard the door click shut behind Daniels. After years of being a trained assassin, Natasha had learned to trust her instincts. And her instincts were telling her something was off, the air was too still and the city noises seemed too far off. Every fiber in her body was screaming at her. Telling her that the small insolated alley, wasn't somewhere she should be.
So when the cold, metal, barrel of a gun touched the side of her head, she wasn't too surprised.
"I wouldn't move if I were you, Ms. Romanoff," whispered Mark Daniels. "You won't like what happens if you do."
What do you think? Please let me know. I also want to thank everyone who has reviewed. Thank you! :)
Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers. Sadly.